CARE: costs cap ‘delayed until 2020’

The cap on elderly care costs in England will be delayed from next April until 2020, the government says. The move comes after the Local Government Association wrote to ministers earlier this month asking for a delay because of the “enormous pressures” they said they were facing.

The letter said the system was “no longer sustainable” and pressing ahead would be “deeply damaging”. The Department of Health said it was still “fully committed” to the cap.

From April, the costs people face for care over the age of 65 was to be limited to £72,000 over the course of their lifetime.

The move was part of a raft of changes being introduced under 2014 Care Act and included in the Conservative Party’s manifesto.

As well as capping costs, the changes would have provided a more generous system of state help.

Currently those with assets of above £23,250 do not get any help from councils towards their costs. That was to have risen to £118,000 under the changes.